Lancaster Saint Bernadette & Bremen Saint Mary

The Disputation of the Holy Sacrament celebration of these holy days

The Feast of the Ascension of the Lord

May 13, 2018

St Bernadette Parish.

1343 Wheeling Road NE (740) 654 • 1893

LANCASTER, OH 43130-8701

St Mary Parish.

602 Marietta Street (740) 569 • 7738

BREMEN, OH 43107

stbernadetteparish . net

cover picture: The Disputation of the Sacrament

This painting is emblematic of today’s feast … and of the next three Sundays’ feasts!

• It gives us an inkling of what Jesus has accomplished for us in the Ascension (today) when Jesus “goes to prepare a place for us, that where he is we

also may be.”

• It reminds us of the gift of the Holy Spirit (the Church founding gift of Pentecost, celebrated next Sunday), represented by the dove in the middle of

the painting, “proceeding from the Father and the Son” (portrayed just above).

• It shows the centrality of that Trinity of Persons, utterly united, which will be our cause of joy on the Feast of the Holy Trinity (in two weeks’ time).

• It presents men on earth pondering and struggling to articulate the wonder of the Holy Eucharist as we too ponder and adore on the Feast of the

Body of Christ, Corpus Christi (concluding this cluster of feasts on June 3 this year).

a fresco (5 x 7.7 meters) painted (1509-1510) as part of a series of frescoes, by Rafael Sanzio (1483-1520) in a reception room in the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican City, Rome

.

Fr Thomas Kessler (614) 634 • 0499 wmthomaskessler @ icloud . com

pastor

at St Bernadette Parish

Jeff Carpenter (740) 681 • 9918 carpenter.277 @ osu . edu

deacon

Mark Scarpitti (740) 438 • 3970 dcn.mark @ frontier . com deacon

Ann Essman (740) 653 • 9347 aessman001 @ att . net pastoral minister

Steve Huber (740) 654 • 3137 shuber57 @ yahoo . com facilities coordinator

Angie & Kent Kerns (740) 654 • 2588 kwkerns @ gmail . com

religious education

Liz Latorre (740) 243 • 1872 lizlatorre @ gmail . com liturgical music

The St Bernadette Parish office is in the Mary Good Center, across the back parking lot from the school.

Hours: 9 AM-1 PM, MWThF; 11 AM-1 PM, Tu. 1343 Wheeling Rd NE, Lancaster, OH 43130-8701 (740) 654 • 1893

at Bremen St Mary Parish

Ben Factor b_factor @ lancaster . k12.oh.us

liturgical music Sarah Borah sborah920 @ gmail . com

The St Mary Parish office is at the church vestibule. Hours: 9-11 AM, Tuesdays.

602 Marietta St, Bremen, OH 43107 (740) 569 • 7738

at both parishes

Stephen Karnes (740) 654 • 1893 stbernbook @ gmail . com business manager

Kathy Kehnast (740) 654 • 1893 stbernparish @ yahoo . com pastoral coordinator

Julie & Chase Stalford (740) 808 • 7294 maristellaspiri @ gmail . com

youth ministry

Saint Bernadette School

Pam Eltringham (740) 654 • 3137 peltring @ cdeducation . org

principal Barb Huber (740) 654 • 3137 bhuber @ cdeducation . org

secretary

Saint Bernadette School is located at

1325 Wheeling Rd, Lancaster, OH 43130-8701 stbernlan @ cdeducation . org. www . stbernadetteschool . com

Bremen St Vincent de Paul (740) 569-7738

Lancaster St Vincent de Paul www . svdplancasteroh . com Diocese of Columbus www . columbuscatholic . org

Angels Nurture & Disciple (AND) www. angelsAND . org

.

Where Our parishes are where Catholics worship. We can receive the Anointing of the Sick at any appropriate place from the appropriate minister. First reception of Eucharist and of

Penance as well as reception of Baptism, Confirmation, and Matrimony may only be in

one’s own parish church, unless with good reason the pastor deems it necessary to do

otherwise.

Baptism To have a child baptized, parents must register and attend a class as a couple (unless attendance just isn’t possible, in which case some discussion with Kathy Kehnast will be

necessary). Sessions are held quarterly for both parishes. Try to attend before the child is born. If you are expecting or if you somehow haven’t gotten around to having an older

child baptized, call Kathy to make plans now.

Please don’t ask if you “have to go.” This is an opportunity to meet with parents of

children about the same age as your little one; those parents are in the same wonderful

boat as you are.

At least one parent must be a practicing Catholic. Both godparents need to be practicing Catholics. If you don’t attend Sunday Mass regularly (a major component of being a

practicing Catholic!), there is something you can do about it: Start coming to Sunday Mass.

Penance The priest is available for Penance

• at St Bernadette Saturdays at 3 PM and Thursdays at 5:30 PM, and

• at St Mary Bremen on Sunday at 8 AM. Every Catholic priest is available whenever there is a need. There are Penance

opportunities for St Bernadette School children four times in the year so that they will learn the beauty of frequent confession. The Church’s law requires us to receive the Penance at

least once a year.

Anointing and Care of the Sick The priest gives the Anointing of the Sick to one who is dangerously ill, facing major surgery, or suffering from the ravages of old age.

• We celebrate the sacrament communally at a Sunday Mass before Advent and during the Easter season so that we can all pray with you for “health of mind and body.”

• The priest brings Penance, Anointing, and Holy Communion to the sick or shut in. It is very helpful to call the parish office to let us know before a hospitalization or when it has been too long since the sacraments were last available.

Holy Matrimony Couples wishing to marry should contact the parish office six months before a wedding.

Why so long? Because this sacrament, not just the ceremony, requires serious

preparation. And the Church needs to be involved in that preparation. Catholics who

marry outside the Church have left the sacramental life and need to change that situation before receiving the other sacraments. The Church needs to support couples through the

years of married life. That’s why our diocese offers programs to enhance married life. To learn about these programs, watch the weekly bulletin.

At Prayer with the Church

The Church Prays at Mass Today

Gladden us with holy joys, almighty God,

and make us rejoice with devout thanksgiving,

for the Ascension of Christ your Son is our exaltation, and,

where the Head has gone before in glory,

the Body is called to follow in hope.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Mass Intentions This Week

May 14, Monday 8:20 AM St Bernadette Robert Guinan

May 15, Tuesday 8:20 AM Bremen St Mary Margaret Turner

May 16, Wednesday 8:20 AM St Bernadette Barbara Egan

May 17, Thursday 6 PM St Bernadette Diana Harris

May 18, Friday 8:20 AM St Bernadette Fr James Csaszar

Hear God’s Word

May 13

Ascension of the Lord

Acts 1:1-11 Ps 47

Eph 1:17-23

Mark 16:15-20

May 14, Monday

Saint Matthias, apostle

Acts 1:15-26 Ps 113 John 15:9-17

May 15, Tuesday

Saint Isidore

Acts 20:17-27 Ps 68 John 17:1-11

May 16, Wednesday Acts 20:28-38 Ps 68 John 17:11-19

May 17, Thursday Acts 22:30-23:11 Ps 16 John 17:20-26

May 18, Friday

Pope Saint John I

Acts 25:13-21 Ps 103 John 21:15-19

May 19, Saturday Acts 28:16-31 Ps 11 John 21:20-25

May 20

Pentecost Sunday

Acts 2:1-11 Ps 104

1 Cor 12:3-13

John 20:19-23

Pope Francis Asks Us …

to pray this month that the lay faithful may fulfill their specific

mission, by responding with creativity to the challenges that face

the world today.

May is Mary’s Month Mary is the mother par excellance! She is the Mother of God and

our Mother. Making May her month is a fairly modern step; it

isn’t found in the ancient liturgical calendars, although there is a

feast of the coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven (May 31). But

if you had been casting around for a good time to celebrate a

month for Mary, May might well have been your choice. It is a

beautiful month (even if you have allergies). Winter is decidedly

over, the fields and trees are green, lots of flowers are in bloom,

cattle are back in the fields. It is a month of new life and of hope.

That fits.

At St Mary Parish (her parish) we will pray the rosary every

Sunday morning in May before the 8:30 AM Mass.

At St Bernadette Parish (her dear young friend’s parish) we will

continue to pray the rosary before the 11 AM Mass.

Catholic Communications Campaign Next Sunday at Mass we collect for the Catholic Communications

Campaign. This campaign connects people with Christ, here and

around the world in developing countries, through the internet,

television, radio, and print media. And fifty percent of funds

collected remain in our diocese to fund local communications

efforts. Your support helps spread the gospel message. To learn

more, visit www . usccb . org/ccc.

Prayer for Our Diocese

Good and gracious God,

we praise and we thank you for the many graces

that you have showered upon us over the past 150 years

in this Diocese of Columbus.

You have brought together faithful men and women

from many cultures, races, and ethnic groups,

and through your Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Spirit,

have molded them into one Catholic Church.

With gratitude, we remember those who have gone before us

for their commitment, prayer, and work.

We honor their inheritance with our own devotion to the Faith

and with a desire to pass it on to another generation.

We give thanks as well for all those

devoted clergy, religious brothers and sisters, and lay people

who have served the diocese so well.

Through the continued gift of your love and wisdom,

stir up in us a lively faith,

a devotion to the worship of your great name,

and a desire to serve others,

as we await in hope the great day of the coming again

of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

For 150 years, you, O God, have been

our guide and inspiration.

We beseech you to remain with us

on this journey of life and faith.

Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Both Parishes

Anointing the Sick

We will celebrate the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick at

Sunday Mass today. You should be anointed if you are

• a Catholic, age 7 or older,

• in the state of grace, and

• suffering serious health problems —

o (like chronic or dangerous diseases,

o old age, or

o the prospect of major surgery).

Determine before Mass begins if you will receive the sacrament, sit in

the front row or at the end of the pew, and come to the altar when you

are called (or notify an usher to ask the priest to come to your place in

the pew if coming forward is difficult). Everybody else: Pray for our

sick. Keep them in your prayers.

Happy Mother’s Day

Participate in the PDHC’s Baby Bottle Campaign by collecting

your loose change from Mother’s Day to Father’s Day to help

local parents and would-be parents in need. Spare change from baby

bottles goes a long way to continue offering free pregnancy tests,

ultrasounds, material assistance and life-affirming programs to

strengthen families. Grab a bottle and bring it back on Father’s Day.

Let us give thanks to our father and mother for choosing life and

help a local family do the same.

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The Sacraments of Initiation !

Pray for our parishioners who this Easter Season have received the

Sacraments of Initiation:

already baptized Christian and now received into the full Communion

of the Catholic Church and confirmed

from St Bernadette

Savannah Dalton

confirmed

from St Bernadette

Jane Uhl, Olivia Carbol Susan Craaybeek

Alexis Cymanski Eve Darfus Sam Finck

Mary Frazier Leo Gauerke Hunter Jamison Katelyn Jarrell Joshua Latorre Olivia McCormick

Nick Pechar Brennan Quaintance, Luke Sharp

Emily Taylor Jack Tencza Brooke Vogel

Diana Woo

from Bremen St Mary

Brooke Holt

from Sugar Grove St Joseph

Mina Gronbach Janessa Hoover Kolton Kilbarger

Julia Ribo Elizabeth Cooperrider

received Holy Communion for the first time from St Bernadette

Ellie Barringer Ella Reed Ella Sanford

Flora Woo Christopher Fitzgibbon

from Bremen St Mary

Kara Borah Christopher Springer Mason Holt

Also pray for several others who are at various stages of

preparation for entry into the Church later. And pray for the grace

for yourself to welcome and invite others to the sacramental life!

what you gave in the collection in April

St

Bernadette

Apr 1 Apr 8 Apr 15 Apr 22 Apr 29 Totals

weekly 6,425 7,302 5,737 6,331 3,777 29,572

electronic

funds

transfer

2,818 176 176 176 176 3,522

educational

support

275 96 100 230 5 706

Total

given to

parish

9,518 7,574 6,013 6,737 3,958 33,800

Rice Bowl 2,187 120 13 50 53 2,423

Good

Friday

742 62 10 0 10 824

Aid to E &

Central

Europe

0 116 55 50 5 226

Total sent

away

2,929 298 78 100 68 3,473

Bremen

St Mary

Apr 1 Apr 8 Apr 15 Apr 22 Apr 29 Totals

weekly 1,675 4,486 1,955 1,050 1,209 10,375

Total

given to

parish

1,675 4,486 1,955 1,050 1,209 10,375

Rice Bowl 5 189 25 72 0 291

Good

Friday

10 0 5 20 0 35

St Vincent

de Paul

465 455 125 120 165 1,330

Aid to E &

Central

Europe

0 30 70 55 0 155

Total sent

away

480 674 225 267 165 1,811

St Bernadette Parish

Happy Birthday

St Bernadette’s former pastor Monsignor Robert Noon turns 95t on

May 15. May also marks the 67th anniversary of his ordination to

the priesthood. He is living in a rather active retirement at the

Villas of St Théresè. If you would like to send him a card, his

address is 5253 E Broad Street #127, Columbus, Ohio 43213.

Ministry at Mass at St Bernadette

+ lector servers extraordinary

ministers of

Holy Communion

May 12 at 4 PM

Saturday,

Vigil of

the Ascension

Becky Kuhn Mallory, Mason &

Mitchell Ortiz

Bob & Angie Christy

Jim Kuhn

Sandy Landefeld

Brad Rider

Craig Shaw

May 13 at 11 AM

Ascension

of the Lord

John Hartig Anna Hartig,

Brooke & Bryson

Vogel

Pat Dreyer

Teresa Hartig

Jim & Rita Merk

Ben Peters

Jean Robertson

Monday,

8:20 AM

Mary Jane

Vajen

Daschel Neighbor

Hyde O’Rielley

Pat Dreyer

Kathy Kehnast

Wednesday,

8:20 AM

Bob Christy Silus Hopkins

Isabelle Lazar

Angie Christy

Mary Jane Vajen

Thursday,

6 PM

Tara

Craaybeek

Kyndra Nagle

Amelia Robertson

Lee Guinan

Paul Lonergan

Friday,

8:20 PM

Jim Merk Morgan Cox

Olivia Reynolds

Rita Merk

Mary Jane Vajen

May 19 at 4 PM

Saturday

Vigil of

Pentecost

Brad Rider Kendall Cox,

Becca Fuller,

Joey Mannella

Terry Carpenter

Marguerite Grimm

Lee Guinan

Kathy Kehnast

Denise McGuire

Mickey Steyaert

May 20 at 11 AM

Pentecost

Sunday

Amy Woo Gunner Robertson,

Diana & Sarah Woo

Larry Sanford

Teresa Scarpitti

Anna Sevigny

David Shonk

Mary Jane Vajen

Becky Wickham

Send a Child to St Bernadette School

St Bernadette School invites you to register your children now

for grades preschool through 5th for the 2018-2019 school year.

Private tours and classroom observations are available at any time.

Want to send your children to a fine Catholic school like St

Bernadette, St Mary’s middle school, or Fisher Catholic High School,

but you wonder about the cost? Assistance is available. For

information, call the school office at (740) 654-3137.

The preschool program offers a progressive learning approach,

and kindergarten-readiness goals, within a flexible schedule.

Elementary grades (full-day kindergarten through 5th grade) offer

a highly respected program of academic excellence and positive

experiences.

St Bernadette School offers a full day kindergarten program that

fosters the academic, social and emotional growth and

development of each child in a very family-friendly environment.

Studies show that the advantages of a full-day program far

outweigh a half-day, including but certainly not limited to, full-

day kindergartners learning more literacy and mathematics than

those in half-day programs.

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St Bernadette Blood Drive

Our next Red Cross Blood Drive is scheduled for Saturday, May

19, from 9 AM-2 PM in the parish hall. There will be lunch and

cupcakes–and other pleasant surprises!–for all our donors. Since

the first birthday drive in 2007, we have collected over 1000

units of blood, saving up to 3000 lives. Call (740) 974-5040 or go

to www . redcrossblood . org to make an appointment or sign up

to donate. The need for blood is constant–every two seconds

someone in the US needs blood. Each day the American Red

Cross must collect approximately 14,000 units of blood to meet

the needs of patients at 2,600 hospitals and transfusion centers.

Shawl Ministry

The St. Bernadette Shawl Ministry seeks to provide comfort to

bereaved and seriously ill friends. If you are interested in

crocheting shawls for our parish, call Terry Carpenter at (740)

681-9918. Yarn is provided and lessons are available for those

who would like to learn to crochet.

Bremen St Mary Parish

Vacation Church School

St Mary Parish will host children from parishes all over our

area for a week of fun, learning, and prayer at a very special

Vacation Church School again this summer, on the evenings

of June 18-22, at Schmelzer’s Grove. Anyone (from either

parish!) interested in helping should contact Sarah Borah at

(740) 569-7738.

Ministry at Mass at St Mary

+ lector servers extraordinary

ministers of

Communion

gifts sacristan

/ usher

Ascension

May 13

at 8:30 AM

Joe

Young

Reagan

Conrad,

Nicole Terry

Angi Skinner,

Jim Schmelzer,

Cathy Young

Joe &

Cathy

Young

Jim

Schmelzer

Pentecost

May 20

at 8:30 AM

Susan

Foltz

Brooke Holt,

Carly

Kunkler

Neil Boch,

Wyatt Borah,

Susan Foltz

John

Schoenlaub

family

Ralph

Mohler

Around Central Ohio

Dealing with the Opiate Addiction Epidemic

For resources and suggestions for families, schools, and parishes

to respond to the opiate addiction epidemic in Ohio, visit www .

columbuscatholic . org/drug-awareness or contact the Social

Concerns office at (614) 241-2540.

Jubilee of Marriages

Bishop Campbell is inviting couples married at least 25 years and

celebrating an anniversary divisible by 5 … and, in fact, any

couple married more than 60 years is invited to the Jubilee of

Anniversaries to be held on Sunday, June 24, at St Andrew

Church, 1899 McCoy Rd, Upper Arlington, at 2:30 PM. The

occasion will begin with Mass followed by a reception.

Registration forms are available through the parish or register

online at columbuscatholic . org/marriage-ministry-1 or by calling

the Marriage & Family Life Office at (614) 241-2560 x 5. RSVP

by Wednesday, June 13.. Names of couples registering before June

13 will be featured in the event program and The Catholic Times.

Other couples will receive their certificate in the mail after the

event.

Pilgrimage to Alabama

St Gabriel Radio's pilgrimage to EWTN and the Shrine of the

Blessed Sacrament in Alabama is filling up fast. All-inclusive

pricing: bus transportation, lodging, tours, and meals. The bus

leaves on Wednesday, June 27, at 7 AM and returns on Saturday,

June 30, at 6 PM, departing from 4747 Sawmill Road. For

information or to register, visit the radio website or contact

colleenl @ stgabrielradio . com or (614) 459-4820.

Put (a) Spring in Your Step

That’s what you’ll have after a Worldwide Marriage Encounter

weekend. The next two weekends in Central Ohio are July 13-15

and Sept 14-16. Marriage Encounter is where married couples can

get away from jobs, kids, chores, and phones and focus only on

each other. For information or to apply, contact Paul or Marilou

Clouse at (614) 834-6880 or visit www . wwmecolumbus . org.

Weekly Confessions & Masses

But these times sometimes change, so call ahead!

parish Mon Tues Wed Thur Fri Sat Penance

Bremen

St Mary

8:20

AM

8 AM Sun

Lancaster

St Bernadette 8:20

AM

8:20

AM

6 PM 8:20

AM

9 AM

1st Sat 5:30 PM

Thu,

3 PM Sat, 8:30 AM

on First Sat

Lancaster St Mary

7 AM 9 AM 7 AM 9 AM 4 PM Sat

Lancaster St Mark

8 AM 8 AM 6 PM 8 AM 8 AM 5:30 PM Sat

Sugar Grove St Joseph

VARIES 12

PM 7 AM 12

PM 12PM ½ hour

before Mass

Circleville

St Joseph

9 AM 7 AM 9 AM 9 AM 4 PM Sat

Logan

St John

8 AM 8 AM 9 AM 8 AM 9 AM 4 PM Sat

Fisher Catholic HS

2:40

PM 2 PM

on First Fri

Catholic Men’s Luncheon Club

The last Catholic Men’s Luncheon Club for this Spring (no

luncheons in July & August) will feature a talk by Deacon Chris

Campbell of Immaculate Conception Parish. Deacon Campbell is

principal of Bishop Watterson High School and will speak about

Catholic education. On Friday, June 1, at St Patrick Church in

downtown Columbus, Mass at 11:45 AM will be followed by lunch

at 12:10 PM and Deacon Campbell’s talk. Reservations are not

necessary; $10 covers the lunch and meeting. Bring a friend. For

information on Catholic Men’s Luncheons, visit www .

catholicmensministry . com/cmlc or contact George Harvey,

CMLC President at GLHarvey56 @ gmail . com.

Our Franciscan Friends Celebrate May

The Franciscan Sisters TOR invite you to celebrate their 30th

anniversary at an Open House and May Crowning on Saturday,

May 19, at their monastery at 369 Little Church Road, Toronto,

Ohio. This family fun day includes pony rides, hayrides, a petting

zoo, and face painting, along with a “Battle of the (Praise) Bands”

from 11 AM to 1:30 PM. Bands from various area churches will

perform. Lunch is free. May Crowning will be held outdoors at

1:30 PM and the Pentecost Vigil Mass at 4 PM. No reservations

necessary; donations are gratefully accepted. For information, visit

www . FranciscanSistersTOR . org or call (740) 544-5542.

Irish Alumni Golf

Alumni of St. Mary, Bishop Fenwick and Fisher Catholic High

Schools will play at Pleasant Valley Golf Course on Saturday,

June 9, at 9 AM at $150 per team. For information and to check

availability contact Molly Neighbor at (740) 654-1231 or

mneighbor @ cdeducation . org.

Catholic Devotion to Mary

The Jubilee Museum in Columbus will host Fr Thomas Blau OP of

St Patrick Church on Thursday, May 17, as he discusses the

Biblical basis of Catholic devotion to Mary. Doors will open and

light refreshments will be provided starting at 6:15 PM. Then Fr

Blau will speak at 7. Admission is the regular Museum admission

of $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors.

The Difference

Between Giving Birth and Giving Life

Angels Nurture and Disciple, AND (formerly known as The

Guardian Angels Program, gaP), is a support program serving

single women struggling with an unexpected pregnancy. As an

extension of pregnancy care services, AND provides the single

mom with a loving network of women (Angels) that will walk

alongside her as she journeys through her pregnancy, birth, and

infancy of her baby. Recognizing the numerous obstacles single

parenthood presents, AND celebrates her courage in choosing

life for her unborn baby, and hence strives to break down any

educational, financial, and emotional barriers that are

preventing her from becoming the mother God intended her

to be.

If you have the desire to serve a mother during her time of crisis,

become a part of this nurturing mission that is transforming lives

and therefore generations to come. AND cannot function without

the core strength provided by their volunteer base, the Choir of

Angels. Angels have many roles, all critical to the support

network. If you enjoy mentoring, cooking, caring for babies,

hosting baby showers, writing letters of support, transporting and

more, they need you!

Whether you have 1 hour @ month or 10, there is a need for you.

Every mother is a gift to her baby; help AND show her just how

much. For information, contact Monica Flynn at (614) 353-6765

or monica @ angelsAND . org.

Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.

—Saint Mother Teresa

The Bishop’s Annual Appeal

This Year’s Theme: Sharing His Love, Encouraging Hope

First Report

BAA 2018 week 1

families partici- pating

pledged average gift

paid BAA goal

St Bernadette 450 44 $18,390 $ 418 $5,600 $36,305

% of goal 9.8% 50.7% 15.4%

St Mary 135 17 $10,650 $626 $6,250 $13,121

% of goal 12.6% 81.2% 47.6%

Diocese $1,285,142 $6,750,000

% of goal 19%

The BAA is a diocesan appeal for financial support. Your gift to

the BAA will directly support these critical areas of need:

• Catholic education for our children through tuition assistance, capital

repair grants for high schools, and operating aid for schools.

• The education and formation of seminarians discerning and answering

the call to the priesthood.

• The vital work of serving parish catechetical leaders in parish and

school religious education programs.

• Marriage preparation and enrichment programs supporting the vocation

of traditional marriage, natural family planning programs, and family

faith formation events.

• The formation and ministry of permanent deacons in our diocese.

• The education, spiritual cultivation, and evangelization of our multi-

ethnic Catholic communities and the parishes serving them.

• The coordination of all liturgies presided at by Bishop Campbell, and

sponsorship of diocesan events such as the Rite of Election and adult

Confirmation.

• Unified programs for youth and young adult ministry that deepen the

faith and involvement of our younger generations.

Appeal Prayer

Gracious and loving God,

we are ever grateful for the many gifts

which you have bestowed upon us.

We are especially thankful, dear Father,

for the gift of your Son, Jesus.

May his Sacred Heart help us

to know your infinite love for us,

and may it give us the courage

to continue his work in the world by

sharing his love and encouraging hope.

We pray that you will help us all respond to your love

by imitating your generosity,

as we consider the needs of all those living in our diocese.

May we touch the lives and hearts of others

by our participation in this appeal.

May you send your Holy Spirit to dwell with us always,

so that all we say and do will give you fitting praise.

We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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What Jesus Was Accomplishing for Us

When He Ascended Into Heaven On the feast of the Ascension of the Lord we celebrate a really remarkable mystery of our Catholic faith. Let’s call it the day humanity

crashed the gates of Heaven. That’s not the official name the Church gives to this feast day, I admit. It is just a way of trying to come to

terms with what is so spectacular about the Ascension of the Lord into heaven.

Jesus’ career on earth was over. He enabled his followers to understand what his life had meant and then told them that he had more in

store for them. It wasn’t simply over. They would go out to all the earth and tell the message of Jesus and the message about Jesus and

the works he had worked. They would tell the world. And it would set the world on fire.

The followers of Jesus had gone forth. Gradually, little enclaves of followers of the way of Jesus developed and gradually grew. Their

most effective tool was the impression they made when many of the lead figures were put to death for their efforts. One of their early

members said, “the Blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church.” Their motivation was not for lots of rewards; it was to share in the life

of God.

Many people misunderstand what the afterlife amounts to in Christianity: Heaven is the reward and hell is the punishment. What God has

in store for his beloved according to the teaching of the Christian Faith is something much brighter than that. And that is where the

doctrine of the Ascension comes in.

According to the Gospel of Saint John, at the Last Supper on the night before he died, Jesus told his disciples “I am going to prepare a

place for you.” We would miss the point if we thought that he was simply going to a fine mansion and sprucing it up, adding some

furnishings or even building on some spare rooms. He is the pure spirit who had come to earth to become flesh and dwell among us, all

the while remaining spirit. His Father and the Holy Spirit are pure spirit. Heaven is – and has been from all eternity – utterly spiritual.

Only the angels, themselves spirits, dwell there with God.

Humans are material and spiritual. They don’t have any right to be in heaven. They just don’t belong there by any merits of their own.

God had created us in his own image and likeness. But the likeness had been marred from the get-go. Our first ancestors, Adam and Eve,

had made a mess of things by disobeying the command of God in the garden of Eden. Their sin of disobedient pride is called original sin.

It is our legacy, and by it we had ruled ourselves out from sharing the life of God in heaven.

Jesus belongs in heaven. But we don’t. Heaven is spiritual and we are material. Sure we are also spiritual, but we since have damaged

that spiritual likeness through sin, we don’t belong. Or we wouldn’t belong if that were the whole of the story. What Jesus did by his

saving death changed all that. He died for our salvation. He rose to give us life. “Dying he destroyed our death, rising he restored our

life.” Death was the human situation before the action of Jesus. It was our destiny. And that was that. Life we had, but only for a little

while. The psalmist had reminded us

Our life is over like a sigh. Our span is seventy years; or eighty for those who are strong.

And most of these are emptiness and pain. They pass swiftly and we are gone.

We flawed, material beings had ruled out the sharing of God’s life that he had planned for us. And now he has said, “I go to prepare a

place for you.” Beings who are material and spiritual – which means human beings, because we are the only beings that are that way –

are having a place prepared for us. That’s what happens when Jesus – our savior – ascends into heaven forty days after Easter. That’s

what I mean by saying he integrates heaven.

We just didn’t belong, for sin and sinful humanity had no place in heaven. But Jesus, the God man, the spiritual and human Jesus has

gone before us where we could not have dared to go. There is humanity, perfect humanity, there. And we who have believed in Jesus

and have been joined to him by baptism and have been nourished by his body and blood can have a place with him. Jesus has said,

“God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”

And he told them, “no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.” He promised his disciples and us,

“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.”

That last day, that entry into the kingdom of God, was put into gear, you might say, when Jesus ascended into heaven, when he went to

prepare a place for us. Humanity, which would otherwise have no place in heaven, has a place with God. Life, which would have

ended for us in our own individual deaths, now has the prospect of never being threatened, never having to end.

But there is something more: Jesus makes it possible to dwell in his Father’s house. To be part of the Father’s household, to be

adopted into the family of God.

He who humbled himself to share in our humanity wants us to share in his divinity, to share in his divine life.

Heaven, which Christian teaching knows is the hope of humanity, is so much more than the reward system, so much more than the

paradise island of a perfect and permanent holiday resort. It is the involvement in the life of God who is love. This is what we were made

for, what we had forfeited by sin, what we are restored to by the action of Jesus. It is for the eternal life in this involvement in the utter

joy of God’s love that Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us that where he is we also may be. The only disaster would be to exclude

ourselves from that. We can do that, but nobody has to. Jesus wants us to be with him. For reasons that are unfathomable to us, he

thinks we are worth the effort. And it was a tremendous effort he made so that we could enter his Father’s house.

— Father Kessler